“It was probably the best 10 years of my life out there,” Nabokov says of his time with San Jose

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – He talked about his present and his future, but most of the 15 minutes that Evgeni Nabokov spent talking with the media on the day his new team is playing his old team was spent in the past.

How much he liked playing in San Jose, how things went sideways for him last winter when he tried to return to the NHL after a 22-game stint in Russia,

Nabokov was in a pretty good mood, taking time to good-naturedly knock two members of the Sharks broadcast crew – OK, you forced me to reveal that it was Drew Remenda and Jamie Baker — who didn’t make it to Nassau Coliseum on Saturday morning.

A sampling of what he had to say to both those of us from San Jose as well as the Long Island media on hand was in the previous posting. Here’s a look beyond that:

On his memories from San Jose:

“It was probably the best 10 years of my life out there and I don’t think it will be replaceable. But we have to move on. Life is still on and all I want to do is play hockey. But that organization did nothing but the best stuff for me, the fans were absolutely awesome out there.”

Nabokov also was asked about the late Warren Strelow and the goalie credited his San Jose coach for the fact Nabokov has a decade in the league. Strelow’s patience and ability to teach were two reasons.

What advice would he give his new teammates as they’re about to play the Sharks:

“If I would be asked I would share information. But it’s a game and it’s not such a thing as ‘Oh, you have to cover this guy’ or, ‘Oh you have to cover this guy or the guy likes to do this or the guy likes to do that.’

“Some people say you know what this guy is going to do, say what Patrick Marleau is going to do. What? He can only shoot glove side? He can shoot anywhere he wants, right? Players with that much skill, you can’t predict what they’re going to do, you can’t say they like to do this or that because it’s so many different ways.

“The one thing I would tell you is that it’s going to take the whole team to beat that team. It’s not the one line or it’s not just the penalty kill that’s going to hurt them. The only way we can beat them is if we show up 100 percent, everybody.”

On Ryane Clowe’s suggestion that a shootout is where the ex-teammate factor would matter:

“Is he still using that move that I told him? I don’t know if I would want to go to that situation because they know too many secrets on that.

“But, you’re right, it would be real interesting to go into that, especially as much as we worked on that and always shared our thoughts on that with him and Pav and Patty. We always talked about situations like that.”

On how things went awry when he tried to get back into the NHL last season:

“I talked about it like 20 times, but I will explain. I thought I would be able to join a name team right away and I wasn’t able to because my goal was to go right to the NHL. For obvious reasons because of the waiver draft, everything fell apart.

“Two weeks passed, nothing is going on, three weeks passed, nothing is going on. I think it was Jan. 20 and Detroit called.

“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do that, but they were able to give me some time to get back (to them). I thought about it. I wasn’t too comfortable, but let’s face it, it’s the Detroit Red Wings so I thought, OK, if they’re going to give me the right time to get myself going, I’m going to do that.

“Then Islanders claimed me and I kind of said I’m not ready. I wasn’t able to step in right away and that’s what they wanted me to do. I didn’t feel I could help the team. I know as a goalie, you have to play 60 minutes. You can’t play like a player – five minutes here, two minutes there, 10 minutes there. It’s a big weight on your shoulders and I wasn’t able to do it right away.

“A lot of people started speculating that, well, it’s the Islanders because of this or that. It has nothing to do with that. I wanted to be on a playoff team because that’s the only way I can get myself in shape and I can get myself hopefully playing” after not playing for a month and a half.

Was he aware that another team could claim after he signed with Detroit:

“Absolutely, but at the same token, we thought it was already January 24 so we thought the non-playoff team why would they claim me? For what reason?

“I know when I came here I started hearing, and even when it happened, I said it doesn’t matter if it’s Islanders or Ottawa – it has nothing to do with the organization. It’s all about how I can help them. I just wasn’t able to.”

How can he help the Islander when he’s healthy again:

“Just catch the puck. Now I’ve had a full training camp and I’m comfortable with the guys around here. If I get the call, I have no excuses other than to catch the puck.”

*****I asked Todd McLellan if he thought his team was disappointed it would not get a chance to test itself against Nabokov.

“What I can tell you about our room and Nabby is they have a ton of respect for him. This guy was a longtime Shark, he’s a tremendous human being, an excellent goaltender. That’s what our room would tell you.

“Would they have liked to play against him? I’m sure some would. That’s in their blood, they’re competitive people. And I know Nabby would as well. Unfortunately that’s not going to happen, but we wish him well. It’s nice to see his NHL career back on track.”

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.